Exporting & Internationalisation for SMEs

This workshop equips small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a clear, practical understanding of why exporting and internationalising can accelerate growth, highlighting the benefits, what typically makes it difficult and ways to help overcome those challenges. Participants will leave with a structured way to assess export readiness, select target markets, and plan first steps while managing risk and resource constraints.

Aimed at SMEs across all sectors, this session is aimed at owner-managers, founders, and senior leaders of SMEs considering exporting for the first time, SMEs currently exporting who want to expand into additional countries or channels and operations, finance, sales, and supply chain leads who will support international delivery.

This will be an informative session with practical advice and time to discuss your own business challenges. Presentations from Department for Business and Trade, UK Export Finance and Innovate UK will offer expertise and further support available.

What You’ll Explore

1. Why internationalise? The benefits, challenges and opportunities for SMEs in international markets.
2. Routes to market: direct exporting, distributors/agents, e-commerce and virtual marketplaces, licensing, strategic partnerships, and establishing a local presence.
3. Export readiness: product/market fit, capacity, cashflow, people, systems, IP, and customer support.
4. Pricing and commercial terms: currency, Incoterms overview, payment terms, and margin protection.
5. Compliance and risk: customs, standards/certification, sanctions/export controls (where relevant), data/privacy, and contract basics.
6. Operations: logistics, lead times, returns, aftersales, and quality management across borders.
7. Market Selection: selecting priority markets, first steps and considerations for market entry.

What You’ll Leave With

• An understanding of export readiness and capability gaps
• A methodology of identifying target markets with practical rationale
• An understanding of potential routes-to-market
• A checklist of common export risks and practical mitigations

Who Should Attend

· owner-managers, founders, and senior leaders of SMEs considering exporting for the first time

· SMEs currently exporting who want to expand into additional countries

· Channel and operations, finance, sales, and supply chain leads who will support international delivery.

Please note this event is funded via the Tees Valley Supply Chain programme.

This is a closed event for programme beneficiaries only, and anyone new to the programme can sign up via the following link:

https://teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/business/supply-chain/

About Tees Valley Supply Chain

Tees Valley Supply Chain is delivered by RTC North on behalf of the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority, and the Tees Valley Business Board.

If your business is based in Tees Valley (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland or Stockton-On-Tees), support is fully funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Support is conditional based on eligibility and suitability checks, and for one-to-one productivity support the completion of a diagnostic.

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Host or Publisher RTC North